County Engineer has wish come true

The holidays are a time of giving and receiving. In the spirit of the season, Scioto County Engineer Craig Opperman was recently informed that a road project on his wish list has been funded.

Opperman said his office keeps a wish list of about 30 projects that he and his office would eventually like to get funded. The project that received funding calls for improvements to be made to Washington Boulevard in West Portsmouth.

According to released information, the office applied for and obtained approval of grant funds from the Federal Highway Administration to perform resurfacing and minor widening with horizontal and vertical alignment changes as needed.

“The project is also planned to include base repair, curb and gutter installation, implementation of a storm sewer system, culvert replacement, traffic control installation and other items needed to complete the project,” Opperman said.

He said the estimated construction cost of $1,739,000 with 80 percent being funded through this grant. Twenty percent of the funding coming from existing funds.

Opperman said funding for the project is contingent on congress continuing to fund the federal transportation budget bill.

Although the project is slated for a 2016-2017 construction, Opperman said their may be a chance it could move up based on a number of factors.

He said crews within the engineer’s office are already evaluating the drainage system of the West Portsmouth area to identify the changes needed at the terminus of the watersheds in the area of Galena Pike. Pipe replacements are scheduled for Galena Pike in anticipation of the Washington Boulevard project and the impending resurfacing of Galena Pike.

“While preliminary work has already begun, once federal authorization is obtained then surveying and design will be completed as referred to above. As it is early in the process, the project scope of work to be completed and the limits of the construction based upon the improvements to be made have not yet been determined,” Opperman said.

Wayne Allen may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 228, or wallen@heartlandpublications.com.